4- No Tyndall Effect to Obscure the View (She Wished There Was)

If you thought Mondays were bad, Minori would beg to differ. Exhibit A: Tuesdays; worse tiredness, still four days away from the weekend, and the rush hour out for blood for the second time.

She woke up at five.

It was around one when she’d slept, too early for her.

She’d have been sleeping until eleven if it weren’t for the noise. If her mother were here, it’d have been different, old routines, usual painting times, raised by a woman who had the discipline of, well, a painter.

But today, her brain was between the night before and a headache worse than a hangover.

“Ugh…” She sat up on the bed, her deep blue eyes barely open, her white hair dishevelled. Her one eye opened fully, negotiating with the—literally—dark reality. The room was dimly lit, the curtains closed just the way she liked it, leaving the morning light no room to sneak into her room like a stalker.

Her neck cracked as she tilted her head.

Not a good sign.

She was about to lie back down when she heard some noise; not outside, but inside her own room.

But the doors were shut, and she’d have loved for it to be air-tight if it could. And she didn’t see any glass shards from the windows.

Meaning, whatever was in here entered without a sound.

And Minori was very possessive of her things.

“This is no time for a horror movie knockoff…” She stood up, but before she opened her mouth, he closed it.

Froze.

The movement was small, but present; a shadow that resembled a person.

“Akagi-san?”

No.

Too early; that woman’s a late sleeper unless it came to Hana. Besides, this figure was too tall to be her, and that one was a short stack if anything.

The figure shifted again, familiar proportions.

Then it…well, she…came into the soft light.

Tall stature.

Bare shoulders.

Bare everything else.

There was no fog, and the light didn’t even care about hiding it.

This wasn’t some anime anyway. This was real.

And there would be no scattering light that disobeyed physics as much as Minori wished there was.

“Are you okay…?” she asked.

Minori froze. Why was she the one concerned? She’s goddamn naked!

But this girl only tilted her head, “Why’re you staring at me like that?”

Minori blinked, and her brain started juggling possibilities, from insomnia to crack. But none of them explained why this thing looked at her with mild concern.

She sighed, ‘I should get paid for this shit.’

“You’re naked,” she said flatly, scratching her head after clicking her tongue. The girl examined herself as if she was looking at herself for the first time; arms, legs, even obliviously twirled like a pretty princess to inspect the rest of her for good measure.

“Yes,” she said, finally.

Minori stared, the sounds of small vendors opening already filling the city in the background.

“Yes…?”

The girl looked back and nodded.

Minori rubbed her temple. There was a naked girl in her room at five in the morning, and only she seemed to care at this point. She threw a hoodie, her hoodie, wordlessly at the girl. The girl caught it almost automatically.

“What’s this for?” she asked.

“Minori’s eyes widened, her cheeks slightly pink, “Huh?! They’re clothes!”

“Why?” Her gold eyes looked like they stared into her soul for a second there, and Minori shivered, and it definitely wasn’t the AC.

“Because you’re naked? Do you even hear yourself?”

The girl looked down at herself again, then back at her.

“Oh.”

She considered this information carefully.

Then she pulled the hoodie over her head.

It was far too large for her. The sleeves swallowed her hands, and the hem reached halfway down her thighs. Her lips slightly quirked up.

“These are comfortable.”

“They’re mine.”

“Thank you for sharing them.”

Minori’s face turned crimson as she sputtered out breathlessly, “I-I didn’t—ugh, never mind….”

The girl didn’t even wait for that sentence to breathe as she leaned closer to the table, then the canvas that sat next to it. Minori’s gaze followed her, and then her eyes widened, “Wait, I swear there was—”

“You made me,” the girl said as if in finality. Minori froze..

“Pardon?”

Because Minori knew that she wasn’t Hera.

“You painted me.”

“Huh? No, I did not!”

“You did.”

“Then why don’t I remember?”

“You looked tired.”

Minori huffed, “I always do.”

The girl rolls her eyes, “Okay, you were tired.”

“That is not a convincing defence.”

The girl tilted her head again, studying Minori with growing curiosity.“You look confused.”

“…There is a stranger in my bedroom claiming I created her.”

“Yes.”

“And you don’t see how that’s unusual?”

The girl thought about it.

Then shook her head.

“No.”

Minori sighed. But before she could convince herself that she may be schizophrenic after all, footsteps sounded outside the room. Minori rushed toward Rie, almost tripping—if not for the girl catching her.

Minori looked up at her with a red face and sharp glare, immediately shaking her head and standing up straight, “Oh, hell no! I’m not gonna turn into a shoujo manga protagonist.”

“Shoujo,,,? Manga..?”

Minori groaned, “Just—”

The door slid open, Hana’s chubby head popping in. Her arms clutched onto a stuffed white rabbit with a top hat.

“Nori-nee…” she said, bleary-eyed. Minori’s gaze softened almost immediately.

“Morning…”

Hana waddled in slowly and shook her head, “G’mornin…”

“Still awkward pronunciation, huh?” Minori commented, “We’ll work on that.”

“Uppies…”

Minori nodded and lifted her onto her arms. It was then that Hana noticed the taller girl wearing Minori’s hoodie.

“Ello hair…” she managed.

“It’s yellow.”

“Ello,”

Minori smiled, “We’ll work on that too.”

“Onee-chan…tall…” she remarked, pointing at the girl. Her expression brightened, tugging at Minori’s sleeve. The blonde girl looked at the two of them with fascination.

“You’re different now,”

Minori tilted her head, “How?”

“...With her.”

“She’s a child.”

“You’re warmer.”

“You’re imagining things.”

“No.”

“Yes.”

The girl stepped forward, shaking her head. Minori then decided that shutting up was better.

“Name?” Hana asked.

“Name?”

Minori looked at her. “You don’t have one?”

The girl shook her head. “You painted me.”

“Not helping.”

She didn’t deny it anymore; the empty canvas was a dead giveaway.

“You need one,” Minori sighed.

“Okay, then.” She stayed silent, her gold eyes shining with anticipation.

Minori frowned, “What?”

“Gimme one.”

“Do I have to…?” she whined, scratching her hair, which looked more like an overgrown forest.

The girl smirked, “You’re the one who said I needed one.”

Minori glared, “I’ll wipe that smirk off your face, idiot…”

But she didn’t push her away. Instead, she studied her.

Blonde hair.

Sunny eyes.

A familiar face, but she didn’t know why.

“Rie…”

The girl smiled, “Rie…” she said it quietly, like she was praying. “I like it.”

Hana grinned, “Hana likes….” she reached to touch the girl’s hair. The girl quirked her head, but leaned forward anyway, feeling her small hands on her hair. “Rie-nee…”

“Nee?”

“Means, ‘big sister’.”

Rie nodded. Minori looked between the two of them.

She noticed how fast this was going.

Far too fast.

It was almost like they were in some K-drama but with slightly better pacing.

“This is just great…” she sighed, “Now it’s two children. One’s just overgrown.”

From the hallway, a gentle voice called out.

“Minori? Hana?”

Akagi.

Minori closed her eyes briefly.

Of course.

She opened them again and looked at the girl—Rie—who stood there happily wearing her oversized hoodie.

Minori sighed.

“…This is going to be a long morning.”